Understanding Ginny
by mothproofrhubarb
Summary: Nobody understands Ginny Weasley. They all see her as the girl who loves Harry Potter. But they're wrong...
1. The Prologue

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me (except the plot), but to J K Rowling.

Prologue

Nobody understands Ginny Weasley.

All most people remember her for is her crush on Harry. Not that it was ever Harry, not really. It was the Boy Who Lived, her ideal, that she had really liked. The crush had lasted a year and a half, maybe two, but people never believe that. Not even her own brother. They all believe that she had loved Harry, that she still did. Even Harry was beginning to believe it, she could tell be the way he was looking at her.

Harry, one of the few people who remembers her for something different. He was there, at the Chamber of Secrets, he had seen her body crumpled at the foot of a statue, he had seen the life draining out of her. But that wasn't what he saw anymore. She has asked him once, what he saw when he thought of the Chamber. He told her he saw Tom Riddle, the Basilisk, Fawkes, Gryffindor's sword. Not her. Never her.

Her family, too, connected her to the Chamber of Secrets. They were all ridiculously overprotective, of course. After her first year, Mrs. Weasley had debated about whether or not to send her back to Hogwarts. She was too protective to see clearly. Dumbledore himself had to remind her that Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain, especially with him as the head, the one person Voldemort is afraid of.

Ron, however, is protective for a very different reason. No matter that she is sixteen now and old enough to make her own decisions, he still thinks of her as his baby sister. He won't let any boy touch her while he is still at Hogwarts, not even his best friend.

There was one other person though, who notices her for something other than Harry. The one person Harry hates almost as much as Voldemort. Draco Malfoy. He may not be the nicest person in the world, she muses, and he may not know her as anything other than the youngest Weasley, but that would soon change.

Ginny Weasley had a plan.

For the past six months she has been training herself to ignore Malfoy's insults. She has been doing well. She no longer flushes bright red with anger whenever she sees him. She has successfully bitten back any number of retorts. She had thought that that would be enough, but to cap it all, she can even smile at him sweetly when he has just snubbed her.

It is time to put her plan into action.


	2. The Kiss

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me (except the plot), but to J K Rowling.

Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy was sitting alone, drinking a cup of tea. He was also gazing at the Weaslette. He seemed to be losing his touch with her. Only this morning he had bumped into her and her bag split. The opportune moment for a snide comment about her family's poverty. But instead of the usual fiery come back, she smiled at him. Things were definitely wrong in the world.

Just then his musings were interrupted. The morning post had arrived and a small, highly excitable owl had landed in his tea.

"Bloody hell!" he swore as it splashed all over his legs. Grabbing the tiny owl, he tore the letter from its leg and told it in no uncertain terms where to go. Unrolling the parchment, he noted the elegant handwriting before starting to read.

_Draco Malfoy,_

_I am a budding artist and I very much admire your face. It has a beautiful bone structure. My surroundings have little to offer in the way of beauty and so I should very much like to draw it. If you agree to model for me, meet me in the empty charms room at 8 o'clock this evening._

_An admirer_

Draco smiled. He thought he had gone through all his admirers, but evidently not. As he absent-mindedly mopped up the spilt tea with the parchment, he considered the offer. A chance to model for a budding artist. It appealed to him. After all, he had only ever been painted by famous artists before, and only at his father's request. This could be the chance that he had been looking for all year.



Ginny watched him as Pigwidgeon arrived at his table. She knew exactly what was in the parchment that he was reading. After all, she had written it.

She grimaced inwardly. It had taken a great deal of self-discipline to write that letter. What it said may have been true, but it still pained her to tell him so. She did not want his already oversized head getting any bigger or it would never fit on a single page.

She sighed, gathered her things and stood up. It would not do for him to get too suspicious or he would never come, so she moved off the first lesson of the day.



Malfoy waited in charms room. It was 8:05 already and his admirer was late. He shifted, growing impatient, and moved over to the window.

It was calm outside; the lake was frozen and the entire scene was blanketed in snow. He didn't like winter. It reminded him too much of himself, and besides it made the dungeons cold. He shook his head. There was only one thing to mar the white landscape, and that was the black-robed student hurrying along the path. He took in the flaming hair and growled low in his throat.

The Weaslette.

The one smear on his otherwise perfect existence. The Gryffindor Dream Team and their little tag-along chum. They were so stupid and yet the envy of the entire school. What did he have to do to get a little attention? After all, he was just as good as Potter, better even. Nonetheless he was still second best. He fumed.



Ginny crept into the charms room. She was a little surprised to see Malfoy staring daggers at the floor, but it was no business of hers what he did in his spare time. But, still, a little baiting never did anyone any harm…

"If looks could kill, eh?" she said, smirking slightly. He jumped at the sound of her voice and glanced up, the anger on his face evident.

"Weaslette," he sneered. "If you don't mind, I have an urgent appointment and it would not do to have someone like you interrupting it."

Ginny smiled. She reached for her book bag and took out a sketchpad and some artists pencils. "A meeting that would require these, would you say?" She felt gratified when his expression wavered, but it his sneer was quickly back in place.



Draco started.

She was the one who wanted to draw him? That was very worrying. But it was something no one would expect, he mused, his father especially. He could turn it to his advantage. Plus, Potter and Weasley would hate it. He could kill two birds with one stone.

"Really?" he smiled condescendingly. "The littlest Weasel wants to draw me? I think this calls for a celebration. Should we get champagne, or would you not be able to afford it?"

She smiled back. Damn. He had forgotten that he could no longer get her to flush red with indignation. Well, he would get her to blush some other way.

"Yes, I'd like to draw you, but that doesn't mean I want to talk to you." She said, interrupting his thoughts.

"A pity, as there are so many things I would like to say to you." He drawled.

"And none of them nice." She retorted. She glared at him. His spirits rose. He hadn't lost his touch after all. "Look, Malfoy, I came here to draw you, not to match wits with the most infuriating person I have ever met."

"Such sweet words," he said, mockingly, "And just how would I go about returning the favour? With words? Or with deeds?"

"Well, 'Dragon of Ill Faith', it would have to be with deeds, since your words are so bitter." She fluttered her eyelashes at him scornfully and his stomach tightened. For the first time since he had met her, he looked over Ginny Weasley properly. He saw past the red hair that hung in soft ringlets down her back, and noticed the smooth pink lips and the big brown eyes that blinked nervously under his gaze. Ginny Weasley was beautiful. Not drop dead gorgeous, but beautiful and vibrant. This could be the easiest thing I've ever had to do, he thought to himself.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus." He said softly, his gaze dropping to the floor. When the silence continued, he looked up at her and said, "Roughly translated, it means 'never provoke a sleeping dragon'. Don't you know the school motto?"

As she continued to look at him blankly, he sighed and crossed the divide between them swiftly. He paused before her, looking intensely into her eyes as if searching for permission in their depths. He sighed again and kissed her.


	3. The Slap

Disclaimer: I'm not JK, and none of the characters, etc. are mine.

Chapter 2

Draco Malfoy was kissing a girl. Not that this was anything new. However, the girl was. She was Ginny Weasley. Just as the thought crossed his mind that this _was _something new, she broke off the kiss and slapped him. A red handprint started to develop.

"What," she panted, "Did you think you were doing?" She was flushed red with anger. He felt vaguely triumphant. This was the first time in months he had managed to get her all riled up. He had thought he was losing his touch. Now he knew he wasn't. he just had to change tactics. He pushed the feeling to the back of his mind. He would think about that later. Now he had to deal with the situation at hand.

"I was kissing you," he said, seemingly unruffled by the resounding slap she had given him. "Wasn't that what you wanted? Or did you want something…else?" he smirked, enjoying the play of emotions across her face; embarrassment, anger, hate, frustration. She finally settled on icy resentment.

"No, that was not what I wanted at all. I _wanted_," here she paused, allowing him to mark the use of the past tense. A look of displeasure flitted across his face. "I wanted to draw you, but you seemed to mistake an artist's attention for interest of another kind altogether." She gathered her things and stalked out the door.

Draco sat down and leaned back contentedly. He had kissed a pretty girl and insulted a Weasley. The evening was looking up.



Ginny stood outside the door, shaking. Her self-discipline had totally deserted her. She had allowed…_him_… to get under her skin and all he'd done was kiss her. It had been a very nice kiss though and at least she'd had the presence of mind to break away before she collapsed totally into _his_ arms. That wasn't part of the plan. Or, at least, it hadn't been. She mentally added in _'seduce Malfoy'_. Who knew, it could be useful.

She gathered herself together with the knowledge that she had had the last word forefront in her mind and set off down the corridor. Her breathing finally back to it's normal rhythm, she rounded the corner and walked into none other than Blaise Zabini.

"Holy crap!" she muttered. Then louder, she said "Do you make a habit of lurking round corners, Zabini, or is this just for me?" the Slytherin looked down at her, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. _He must enjoy being tall_, Ginny thought to herself_, he gets to look down on everybody_. Zabini's smile broadened.

"As a matter of fact, I do enjoy being tall," he told her, as her eyes widened, "yes, you did say that out loud, and no, I'm not just here for you. I'm looking for Malfoy. You haven't seen him, have you?" she shook her head, cursing inwardly. Why, oh why, were all the handsome ones in Slytherin and could tie her tongues in knots?

"Because we were born that way," he said laughingly, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must find Malfoy."

Ginny cursed herself all the way to Gryffindor Tower. When she reached the Fat Lady, she was gently reprimanded for her language before giving the password. Inside, all eyes were on her as she crossed the common room. Hermione, Ron and Harry stopped her before she got to the girls stairs.

"Ginny, are you all right?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, you're muttering to yourself continuously, without moving your lips. And you can talk through it. It makes it very hard to talk to you." she broke off worriedly. "You're saying 'stupid Ginny, first you let them get to you like that and now you can't even shut up in front of everyone'."

"It sounds like her inner thoughts, but it can't be, can it?" Ron put in, frantically. Hermione's look brightened.

"Yes," she breathed, "I've read about this, it's a highly complex charm. We have to take her to Madam Pomfrey. Yes, yes, we know you're there Ginny; we're not talking around you."

Ginny's heart thundered as she was escorted back through the corridors to the Hospital Wing. 'Highly complex charm', eh? She was willing to bet that Malfoy had done this. After all, he was second in his year, only beaten by Hermione. He probably did it when she was stalking out of the room, the git.

"Ginny, stop thinking, will you? About half the schools behind us, they can all hear what you're thinking. Look if you can't stop it, I'll have to knock you out. Fine be that way."

And Ginny's world went black.



"Malfoy, why've you got a handprint across your cheek?" Draco's eyes opened. Zabini's interested face was hanging over his. He sat up.

"I was having a nice little daydream before you interrupted, y'know." He groaned. "How bad is it?"

"It's noticeable but not too bad." Zabini admitted. Draco smirked. Now Pansy would be fawning over him all evening. Oh wait, that _wasn't_ a good thing. "Which girl was it?" Blaise asked, more than a little curious. Damn Zabini and his questioning nature. He didn't really want to confess that he had been fantasizing about the Weasley girl in a bikini. So he did the only possible thing; answered a question with a question.

"The slap or the daydream?" he said.

"Knowing you, it's probably the same girl." Blaise grinned as Draco grimaced. "I'm right, aren't I? Let's see, can I guess which one? Is she a Slytherin? No? Let's see, you've gone through all the Ravenclaws, and you'd never touch a Hufflepuff, so that leaves Gryffindor." Draco nodded, glum in the face of Blaise's merriment. "Well, Ginny Weasley's the best looking out of that lot, but you wouldn't touch her either, so I'm gues-"

"You'd be surprised." he interrupted. Blaise looked shocked. Draco nodded. "Yes, I know. I kissed a Weasley. Father's gonna kill me."

"Not before her brother does." Blaise predicted grimly.


	4. The Talk

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is not mine. It belongs to JK and possibly some other people.

A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it. Ooops. I'm sorry, but I now have an actual plot lined out for this. It should be about another 4 chapters and I just started my exam year, so be prepared for notoriously slow updates. Also, this chapter has a crappy ending, but I'm too tired to make it better.

Chapter 3 

Ginny slowly opened her eyes. She felt more than a little confused. The last thing she remembered was someone talking about knocking her out. She sat up, ramrod straight.

"Draco knocked me out!" she gasped.

"Since when has Malfoy been 'Draco'?" asked a curious voice from her side.

"Harry, that's not what's important right now. Ginny thinks that Malfoy knocked her out and we have to correct her assumption," a bossy voice quickly followed. It softened as Hermione went on. "Gin, that wasn't Malfoy that knocked you out, it was me. It was the only way I could think of to get you to stop thinking as I didn't know the counter-curse." She finished, somewhat apologetic.

"Yeah, well, lucky Pomfrey _does_ know the counter-curse. Means the rest of the school doesn't get to hear all about your latest encounter with Malfoy," Ron growled. "If I find out he's the one who did this I'll… I'll… I dunno, but something bad."

Ginny's thoughts were in a whirl. Her memories had straightened themselves out since she had woken up and she now remembered that the whole saying-thoughts-aloud thing must have started near Zabini. He would have said something otherwise. That meant she had to talk to him. Another owl-arranged rendezvous would be a good idea, but look at what had happened last time. No, she would have to rely on luck to find Zabini.

"There aren't any lasting side-affects, are there 'Mione?" she asked cautiously, wanting to know how soon she could leave.

"No, no, you should be fine." Hermione replied, before turning back to Ron, who was flushed a brilliant red. _Great_, Ginny thought, _I can go_. So she hopped out of bed (luckily she was still in her robes, although they were a little crumpled) and went on her merry way. Only Harry saw her go.

Half an hour later, she still hadn't found hide or hair of Zabini. She hadn't been unconscious long, only a couple of minutes according to the clock, so he couldn't have gotten far. Unless he had gone to the Slytherin common room. She knew where it was, of course. Fred and George had shown her the Marauders Map before they gave it to Harry, making sure she had memorised every inch of it. They wanted the Weasley legacy to continue. Unfortunately they had chosen the wrong heir.

The only problem with Zabini being inside the common room was that she didn't know the password and hanging around outside was not something she wanted to do. There was only thing for it: Harry's invisibility cloak. By now the trio would be back the Gryffindor common room, so Ginny headed there.

She had hoped to approach Harry discreetly, but clearly that was going to be impossible. As soon as she entered the room all eyes were on her. Again. One of the first years even began to giggle, causing Ginny to groan inwardly, until Colin whacked her round the head. Ginny stomped through the crowd until she reached Harry, Ron and 'Mione, sat in their usual seats at the head of the room.

As she bent down to whisper into Harry's ear conversations began to resume, although Ron stared at the sight before him with a furrowed brow.



Ginny was down by the dungeons under the invisibility cloak. Harry had agreed immediately to lend it to her. _Thank the lord for teenage hormones_, she had thought as she walked through the corridors that led to Slytherin territory. All she needed to do now was wait until a Slytherin came past and said the password and she'd be set, although why talking to Zabini couldn't wait until morning she wasn't sure.

Suddenly her senses snapped to attention as the tapestry in front of her rolled up. Malfoy was coming out with a look of dissatisfaction on his face. It was all the opening she needed, though, and she rushed through the entrance. A little too hurriedly, perhaps, as she brushed Malfoy, but as he didn't seem to notice that was fine by her.

As she entered the common room proper, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement. The room was large and spacious and although she may have disagreed about the colour scheme, absolutely everything about it oozed elegance. She could barely tell she was underground, although that may have had something to do with the enchanted windows along one of the walls. She was very glad that she had the invisibility cloak on right then. She didn't think she could stand Parkinson telling her to stop gawking and get out. It was just too beautiful.

Ginny scanned the room for Zabini, although she couldn't find him until she heard someone land on the floor heavily. She instantly swivelled and saw Parkinson herself, the self-proclaimed princess of Slytherin to Malfoy's prince, on the floor.

"Just because Draco's gone doesn't mean you can move onto me. However you could try Vincent or Gregory. I'm sure they'd be delighted with your attentions." Zabini's cold tones echoed through the room as he gestured to the two teens who were leering in Parkinson's direction.

Just as Zabini was moving off towards the boy's corridor, a path being cleared for him, Ginny remembered what she was doing there and ran to catch up. Luckily the corridor was empty, so no one was there to see her astonishment when Zabini didn't react to her dramatic removal of the cloak.

"Hello? Zabini? Anyone home?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes. He blinked then stared down at her, amusement returned to his dark eyes.

"Do I detect a hint of annoyance, Weasley, or is this just for me?" he said, teasingly.

"Oh don't worry your pretty little head about it," here Ginny had to smother a giggle as he pouted at her. "I need to talk to you about earlier. When I was talking to you, there was a curse on me…" she trailed off, unsure of how to go on.

Zabini nodded sagely. "Yeah, I heard about that. Before you ask, it wasn't Draco. He may have the skill for this kind of thing, but not the heart." Again he nodded, this time at her unspoken question. "Draco's a lot worse at keeping secrets than you, even when you're cursed. Now put Potter's cloak back on and toddle off. I'm sure you have homework to do."



Draco had calmed down and was making his way back down to the Slytherin common room when he walked smack-bang into something he couldn't see. _Something, or someone_, he thought wryly to himself, as copper curls were revealed, followed by the rest of Ginny Weasley.

"Come to beg for more, Weaslette? Or were you looking for scraps from the Slytherins?" he said, not making much effort as he was too tired for this sort of thing. As the telltale blush spread up her cheeks she made to go around him. "Oh no you don't," he said, putting out an arm to stop her. "We've got to talk."

"Oh yeah. Says who?" she replied, slightly offbalanced by her talk with Zabini.

He was about to say _me, who else?_ when he saw the expression on Ginny's face. He saw longing and confusion and read between the lines and so leaned in for another kiss.


	5. The Escape

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is not mine. It belongs to JK, Shakespeare and possibly some other people.

Also, I apologise muchly for not having updated in so long, but I have a great problem that many like to call laziness. I prefer to call it being busy doing nothing. I also apologise for the shoddy ending, but my mind truly went blank.

Chapter 4 

_This seems somewhat familiar, _Ginny thought as she pulled away from the boy in front of her and brought her hand up in slow-mo. The pale skin that perfectly matched the blonde hair, the amazingly long lashes curving down his cheek as he opened his steel grey eyes in shock. Everything speeded up then, as he too brought up his hand to rub his cheek.

"Déjà vu," he said ruefully. "You know, you could at least have hit the same cheek."

"Why?" she said, a little too brightly "Now they match. Anyway, about that talk…" She trailed off, clearly waiting for him to fill in the gap. He sighed inwardly. The kiss and the slap had taken his mind so far from where it was he couldn't even remember wanting to talk to Ginny, only wanting to kiss her beautifully plump lips… No. That was not the way forward. All it would lead to was more slaps and if she wanted to make him match… A smirk grew as he considered the possibilities.

"Great, now he doesn't want to talk, when I so sorely do." continued Ginny, dramatically flinging herself down on a stone bench in the corridor.

"'What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?'" countered Draco, still smirking. _Well if she wants to get all dramatic._ Her look of confusion made it all worthwhile. "Oh, come on. Even muggles have heard of Shakespeare."

"Well, yes, but I was wondering if you knew the context behind that. It's from Much Ado About Nothing, and Benedick says it to Beatrice in the beginning. They end up falling in love." It was Draco's turn to look puzzled. "Just wondering if you knew. That's all." She added sweetly. Then, turning vicious, "Or did daddy just give you a book of quotes to read? After all, even I've seen Shakespeare performed."

Now it was back to more familiar ground. Draco knew what to do here, and he blessed her for giving him an opening.

"Of course I've seen it performed. I was just… surprised that you knew anything remotely…" Here he struggled to find a word to fit. He couldn't seem to manage it. Ginny's look of supreme satisfaction goaded him into saying the first thing that came into his head: "I'm going!"

Ginny's smug look rapidly disappeared.

"Well, if you want to act the baby, go ahead, I'm not stopping you. But I thought you wanted to talk to me. Next time you ask for a private moment, I won't be anywhere near as accommodating as I was tonight."

"But you weren't accommodating at all!" He protested, as she nodded grimly. "Let me guess; precisely your point? Fine, let's talk now." Draco sat heavily on the stone bench beside her, and tried to gather his memory of what he had actually wanted to talk about.

"Well, let's see… You were under a curse earlier tonight, weren't you?" He finally managed to say. He shook his head inwardly in annoyance. This wasn't at all what he meant to bring up, but he was grasping at straws now. Anything to avoid what he had meant to talk about, especially after that slap.



Ginny nodded, a little confused. Draco's mask had seemed to slip, albeit for a split second, and she could have sworn she'd seen some _feeling_ under those cold, grey eyes. What that feeling was she couldn't tell; she didn't know him well enough to be able to know his expressions. _Yet._ Wait, that was wrong. She didn't want to be able to know him that well. Did she?

Whatever her feelings were, Draco had started talking again, so she had better pay attention.

"… told me that you thought it was me that did it to you. I know what you think I'm like, but trust me I'm not." Ginny snorted at this point. _It may sound like he's being disarmingly honest, but it's just an act_, she told herself. "What? It's true." He told her.

"Prove it," she replied. "I think you're a no-good Death Eater, just like your father, so prove that you're not."

"I can prove that I'm not a Death Eater," he said, rolling up his left sleeve, "But I can't prove that I'm good. That's just a matter of opinion. You have to make up your own mind on that count. Let me know when you've decided. After all," he continued, holding up a hand to silence her, "Evil, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I know you think you already know, but how sure are you that you fight on the side of good? I'm sure even the Dark Lord thinks he's doing what's right." He looked deep into her cinnamon eyes. "Figure yourself out, before you judge me, that's all I'm saying."

Ginny caught her breath. That was the most she had ever heard him say in one go, and in such a genuine voice, too. She stared straight back at those grey eyes that were really more silver, and…

A figure in black jumped out from behind a pillar and went BOO!

(I'm sure not one of you saw that coming. But, seriously.)

A robed figure stepped out from behind the pillar sharing the corridor with them, applauding while he did so.

"A most stirring speech, young Malfoy. But I'm not sure your father would approve of you talking like that to blood traitors like this one." Said cultured tones from under the hood. Draco sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"Lestrange." He hissed.

"Well done, young nephew. But I'm afraid I will have to break this little party up. I can't possibly allow you to speak with this little bitch any longer, especially when the Dark Lord wants her so badly." Rodolphus Lestrange pulled down his hood to reveal proud features. Ginny, who had been frozen to the spot until this point, suddenly made a break for it. Lestrange easily caught with one arm and held her while she struggled.

"You bastard! You planned this!" She spat at Draco, "You lured in me in with that speech so that your uncle here could come and grab me and take me to You-Know-Who! I knew I was right. You should never listen to a Slytherin!" She continued kicking and scratching at Lestrange until he stupefied her.

"My, my, she's a bit of a wildcat, isn't she? How on earth did you manage to attract her like this?" Lestrange looked at his nephew interestedly.

"Get out of my sight." Draco said disgustedly.

"What? Aren't you even going to try and get the girl back? What kind of hero are you?" Lestrange shook his head.

"But I'm not a hero. That's the whole point. If you want a rescue attempt go and talk to Potter. I'm going to bed." He started to walk off. "Good night uncle." He called back over his shoulder. Lestrange shook his head again, this time with amusement. For all his faults, Draco was a good boy really.



By the time Draco got back to his bedroom he was ready to drop with exhaustion. He was even willing to forget his uncle had abducted Ginny for the Dark Lord. But God forbid he have a decent nights sleep. No. Instead Blaise came to interrupt him whilst he was changing.

"Did Ginny find you?" He said abruptly, closing the door behind him. Draco nodded curtly. "Good. That relieves me somewhat."

"Only somewhat?" Queried Draco mildly. Blaise nodded agreement.

"Your reputation is bad enough as it is without her telling the entire school that you put a curse on her. Not that Potter and his friends won't guess it soon enough."

"I resent that. I honestly didn't put that curse on her." Draco replied. His voice got harder, "It was the Death Eaters."

"How do y…" Started Blaise.

"Lestrange took her. Right in the middle of a moment as well." Complained Draco.

"And you don't mind?" Blaise was clearly astonished. "I thought you liked her… Wait a minute… You had a moment?" Draco smirked, albeit tiredly. "And you aren't going to rescue her, be her knight in shining armour and all that jazz."

Draco sighed. "I'll tell you what I told Lestrange. If you want the white knight upon a fiery steed go find Potter. I'm not cut out for rescuing damsels in distress."

"Well, I am. I think. But if I'm going down you're coming with me. It's the perfect way to polish your tarnished reputation" Blaise grabbed Draco's hand excitedly and started dancing round the room. Draco followed, dragging his feet.

"Why is it everyone cares about my reputation more than me?" Draco grumbled to himself as Blaise continued his mad dance across the floor, only stopping to collect their brooms. "After all, I'm the one who has to carry it around with me." At this point, Blaise flew out the window, gesturing furiously at Draco to follow.

So, without many real objections, Draco left Hogwarts in search of Ginny Weasley and the Death Eaters.


End file.
